Go to the Library In Your Pajamas

I think we can all agree that going ANYWHERE in public while still wearing pajamas is unacceptable.  Whether it’s Wal-Mart (I’m looking at YOU, people of Wal-Mart) or the movies or Starbucks, you should at least put on something that you didn’t sleep in before stepping out on the town.  Even if you’re really comfortable in those baggy sweat pants and ratty t-shirt from college but you want to go to the library, either get dressed or skip the library.

Or consider this alternative.

As the owner of an iPad, which supports both Kindle and Nook apps, I’ve been known to purchase a few eBooks when they’re on sale for $.99.  And as I’ve stated in a previous post, having books available on an eReader is pretty convenient, especially when you’re traveling and you want to take more than one book with you.  But I’m not one to typically buy the books I read unless, of course, I find them for dirt cheap on Amazon or at a library sale.  Which is why libraries are so awesome, right?

I have a feeling there’s no kids’ section here, though.

Of course there are some downsides to libraries:  Their hours can be somewhat limited.  Some aren’t open on Sundays, and most close early on Fridays and Saturdays.  I usually find that the time I want to go to the library the most is when they’re closed.

Also, when you have an active, somewhat stubborn four-year-old like I do, it’s hard to get in the book-browsing that you really want to get done.  I try to sneak in the Teen Fiction aisle only to get dragged away to the children’s section, leaving no chance for me to find anything for myself.

Fortunately I have recently discovered an alternative to both of those problems:

The eLibrary!

If you have an awesome county library system like I do, then they probably have an online eBooks section on their website where you can check out eBooks and have them sent to your eReader INSTANTLY.  Seriously!  All you need is a library card and a Kindle or iPad, and you can spend your nights in your pajamas searching through thousands of books to check out and read thirty seconds later.  You know how sometimes you think of a book you want to check out the next time you go to the library, only to completely forget about it while you’re there?  Well, now you can check it out (given it’s available) the moment you think of it.  I’ve spent many late nights and lunch hours doing this, and I tell you, it is BRILLIANT.  You still get three weeks to keep the book, and instead of the stress of having to return it on time without any late fees, the eBook simply disappears from your eReader as soon as the three weeks are up.  EASY PEASY.

Of course, as with brick-and-mortar libraries, the eLibrary has its downsides as well.  They don’t have as much selection as regular libraries.  They have a lot, but not always what I’m looking for.  Popular books have long waiting lists.  For example – and this in no way implies that I actually want to read this book; I was simply CURIOUS – the book Fifty Shades of Grey currently has about 1000 people on the waiting list.  Yes, you read that correctly.  ONE-THOUSAND.  At that point you’d think that if someone wanted to read it that badly on their Kindle, they’ll just pay the $9.99 and get it on Amazon that day.

Or you could actually go read something good.

It also takes a while for new books to become available to check out.  You’ll probably have much better luck just going to the actual library and getting it there a few of months after it’s released in stores.  And again, the waiting list for new-ish books is really long.  It just all depends on how badly you want to read it.

But if you’re just looking for books to read and don’t have anything specific in mind, this is definitely a convenient way to do it.  I’ve found a lot of books I had never heard of by just browsing on the website, and because I’m not losing anything by checking it out right then, I can do it.  If I start reading it and decide I don’t want to continue (which happens sometimes), then I can just go to Amazon’s website where is says “Manage Your Kindle” and return the book.  Bam.  Gone.  This comes in handy because through my library system I can only check out 15 items at a time.  If I find a book I really want but I’ve already maxed out my items, I can quickly return one of them at that moment and check out the new one.  No running to the library involved.

An unknown that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Now, I’m only excited about this new discovery because of its convenience.  It will never replace going to the actual library, and I don’t think it ever will.  There’s still something about walking through aisles and opening books to read the inside flap and flip through the pages.  But if it’s late on a Friday night and you decide you want something new to read besides the books on your shelves that you see everyday, then you know where to go.

First World Problems

We as a human race tend to complain about a lot about things.   That’s just part of our nature.  Something bothers us, we complain.  But in the grand scheme of things, none of these things are really valid things to complain about.  It’s not like we’re complaining about no clean water to drink, or no clean place to go to the bathroom.  No, it tends to be about things like no Starbucks nearby to get our daily caffeine jolt, or nothing to wear simply because we’re sick of all our clothes.

Well, here’s another pointless problem for you: the disk drive in our MacBook Pro laptop is broken, so we have to take it to the Apple store to have it get fixed, which means they’ll probably have to send it in, which means I’ll be without an actual computer for a few days.  Which means either I not blog, or I blog from my iPad.  Which I happen to be doing right now.

And let me tell you….IT SUCKS.  When I’m not dealing with auto-correct (which I’m turning off as soon as I finish this), I’m dealing with the tiny, flat keyboard and the fact that I don’t know if I’m inserting pictures correctly.  I’ve already lost one picture, and I don’t want to even try get it back.  Hell, I don’t even know if I’ll be able to publish this thing.

So there you go.  I’m complaining about owning both a laptop and an iPad, which makes me sound like a total douche, given the fact that kids in some parts of the world have not and will never see either of those items.  So I apologize.  But if I go a few days without blogging, well, you know why.

Happy…er…um…oh, just go complain about something pointless.

I Go Both Ways

Before I continue, let me tell you all that this post is about reading and books.  Not whatever else may be going through your mind.  So you can either stop reading now, or carry on.

For as long as I can remember, I have been against reading books via eReaders.  I’m talking about eBooks, or books that are read on a screen rather than on paper in between two covers.  But it seems that with every day that passes, reading books on Kindles or Nooks or iPads are becoming the new trend.  In fact, eBooks are now out-selling actual books…you know, the ones that look like this:

In the past, I have always embraced change when it comes to the way we do things.  For example, the change from cassette tape to compact disc was easy because the CD sounded so much better, and it was way easier to skip songs I didn’t like.  And when the iPod first came out, I was relieved I didn’t have to carry around my huge CD wallet full of 200+ CDs anymore…I could carry it all my pocket and listen to whatever I wanted without having to change the CD.

The same goes for movies.  DVDs were loads better than VHSs, and Blu-rays are even better than DVDs.  Every time there was an improvement in technology, I was all over it.

But it was different with books.

There’s just something about books that just can’t compare with eReaders.  The smell of the pages.  The way a book feels in your hands while you read it.  The way a well-loved book looks after it’s been read hundreds of times.  You just can’t get that from a screen.

Can’t smell anything.

I also love the way books look on bookshelves.  I’ve had CD stands and DVD towers in my time, but nothing compares to a bookshelf packed with books.  I once heard a quote that said, “Never trust a person who doesn’t own books”, or something along that line.  And I couldn’t agree more.  If I go to someone’s house and I don’t see any bookshelves, my opinion has already been made.

And this is where the eBook comes in.  The idea at first seemed so cold to me.  Who would want to curl up in bed with a tiny computer screen?  How do you dog-ear a page when there are no pages?  And what do you put on your bookshelves when you don’t own any books???

Those were my thoughts up until a few days ago…when I received an iPad for Christmas.  I was curious, so I went on iBooks and downloaded a free sample from a book I want to read eventually, just to see what it looked like on my iPad.

Well, you can imagine my surprise – and dread – when I realized that…it didn’t look bad at all.  In fact, it looked kind of…good.  Despite the fact that I couldn’t physically turn a page, it was actually really easy to read.  The screen wasn’t bright because I adjusted the brightness of it, and the font was a good size – not super tiny like it is in some books, but not so big where I feel like I’m reading one of those ginormous large-print books, like the one of Mockingjay I accidentally picked up at the library that actually hurt my eyes to read because the letters were so big.

So I did some more browsing and discovered that I can have basically any classic book for free on my iPad.  Seriously, you can have books like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Anne of Green Gables totally free.  All you have to do is download them, and you have them forever.

So this is where things get interesting.  Along with the iPad, I also received a $15 iTunes gift card.  As everyone knows, I love my iPod and buy songs whenever I can.  iTunes gift cards are always on my wish list.  But for some reason this time around I felt a little tapped out when it came to music.  Having 20,000 songs on your iPod will do that to you, I guess.  So I did something I thought I would never do.

I BOUGHT AN eBOOK.

Two, in fact.  That’s right, I actually spent my entire gift card on books that I have to read electronically.  And I was excited about it.  I was excited that the books cost less than if I were to buy them in a store, and I was excited that I could carry more than one book in my purse.  And then things got even more exciting.  I found that sometimes you can find books for really cheap, like .99 cents…which I happened to do that same night after browsing the Amazon Kindle store.

Yep, I downloaded the Kindle app for my iPad and bought FOUR .99 cents books from Amazon.  I was on a roll!  And that means that I have about TEN books in my iPad now, which takes up a lot less room in my purse than ten actual books would.  Which is pretty awesome.

But unlike when I made the other technological switches and never went back to the old way (seriously, does anyone even own a VHS player anymore?) I will NEVER stop reading actual books.  So many of the books I own mean so much to me, and I can’t imagine not being able to hold them in my hands again.  Even if I collect 200 books on my iPad, I won’t stop going to libraries, I won’t stop going to used book sales, and I’ll always keep my bookshelves full.

But it’s nice to know that I have the option of going both ways.  Because I’m crazy like that.

Happy reading!